


Sacrifices

by StaciNadia



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, BAMF Lydia Martin, BAMF Stiles, Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Violence, Childbirth, F/M, Happy Ending, Hellhound Jordan Parrish, Mage Stiles Stilinski, Magical Lydia Martin, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Minor Character Death, Near Death Experiences, Past Lydia Martin/Jackson Whittemore, Pregnancy, Protective Lydia Martin, Protective Stiles Stilinski, Reincarnation, Sacrifice, Vampire Lydia Martin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-06
Updated: 2018-09-06
Packaged: 2019-07-07 15:26:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15911046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StaciNadia/pseuds/StaciNadia
Summary: After living for nearly a thousand years, Lydia gets bored again and decides to go back to magic school.





	Sacrifices

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chloewessonxoxo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chloewessonxoxo/gifts).



> For the We Heart Stiles Rares 2018 exchange here on AO3! One of chloewessonxoxo's requests was a Stydia story where Lydia is a vampire and Stiles is the mage who catches her attention, and magic requires a sacrifice of some sort. I adored that idea and I added some past Lydia/Jackson and soulmates to the mix! I had a ton of fun writing this, and I might even write further stories in this universe! I hope you like it!
> 
> The circumstances of the sacrifices, minor character death, and near death experiences are mentioned in the bottom notes, so skip ahead to them if there might be anything upsetting for you.

“Lydia, darling, are you sure you want to do this?”

“I’m positive, Mother.“ Lydia’s boredom had been persisting for years once again, and she was going to go crazy if she had to do the same old thing for one more day. She’d always thought that it was far too easy to get bored when she had been alive for centuries and could quite possibly live forever.

Lydia Martin was a vampire, and she was 976 years old.

It was a fairly lonely existence, being a vampire. Despite the vast amounts of supernatural creatures who existed in the world, none had quite so many rumors about them as vampires did, and the majority of those rumors were completely false. Yes, they were generally pale-skinned, and yes, a vampire never died of old age, but that was about all that was true. She figured that all that false information had spread long ago because a lot of vampires were solitary or only bothered with their own families, and therefore none of them had stopped the false rumors from being spread when they were brand new.

Like most of their kind, the Martin family had acquired a lot of wealth over the millennia and had various estates all over the countryside. Lydia had lived with her family in their main estate as a child as she’d grown into her powers and then several other times over her lifetime when she had just needed to see a familiar face besides her own personal servants. And now, she was leaving the estate, which they fondly called House Martin, once again.

“I know you need to leave because of your boredom. Goodness knows _I’ve_ been bored enough plenty of times over my lifetime,” Lydia’s mother, Natalie, continued. “But are you sure you want to go back to magic school? I really don’t like it, you know, with all the sacrificing.”

Lydia knew that her mother was just worried about her. She squeezed the older woman’s hand. “It‘ll be fine, Mother. I know the safe limits of my magic.”

Magic was one of the most powerful things in the world, even just a simple spell to light a candle. It required the caster to make a sacrifice in order to cast the spell, and the price for each spell could be different for different people. The Fates of Magic always knew what the caster had that could be given for spells of different strengths. For most of the generally considered “easy” spells, casters usually had to sacrifice energy, making them far more tired than they were before. But casting more powerful spells, like large barriers or spells to attack or repel many creatures at once, required a higher price, like blood. And spells to save someone dying were almost never cast because the price would usually be the caster’s life. The few times that spells with that kind of power had been cast had been by people who deeply loved the dying person, like a spouse, a lover, or a parent.

Lydia herself was rather brilliant and gifted in magic. She had gone to a school specializing in magic when she had been a child to learn how to properly use it, and then she’d gone back various times over her lifetime to review material or to see if any new spells had been discovered since the last time she’d been there. She had always waited at least a human’s lifetime before returning. And each time she had gone, she was easily the best student in the class. She was knowledgeable about theory and actual casting and sacrificing.

She glanced at the large grandfather clock in the hall. It was already mid-afternoon and the sun was already going down. There wouldn‘t be enough light for traveling for too much longer. “Well, I guess I’d better be going now.”

“Come back and visit, Lydia. You are always welcome here.” Natalie told her. 

The two women embraced for a few moments, then Lydia picked up one of the three suitcases that were sitting by the front door. Her retainer, who had been waiting so quietly that she’d almost forgotten that he was there, picked up the other two and they walked out the front doors of the Martin estate.

Jordan Parrish had been her most faithful retainer for several centuries now. He, like his family, was a hellhound, and while they didn’t have nearly as long a life as a vampire, they easily lived well over a thousand years. His family had served the Martins for millennia. “Are you ready for the ride to the Four Elements School of Magic, milady?” he asked her, bowing.

“Yes,” she answered immediately. “I am so ready for some excitement in my life again.”

“Well, hopefully, practicing magic again will amuse you for some years,” Jordan said philosophically. “You particularly enjoyed it the last time you went. What was it, about 80 years ago?”

A smile slowly grew on Lydia’s face. “At least that,” she said. “And the other students were terrified of me right from the start, and it was so easy to scare them. But I think this time, I want to focus all of my energy on practical magic for whenever I’ll need it in the future.”

She remembered arriving at the Four Elements nearly a century before, not speaking much the day she arrived, but rumors had still been spread about her immediately. She had always carried herself regally, and the other students hadn’t been fond of that. One girl had been teasing her continuously her first day in class. Lydia hadn’t said a word, but she had focused such a stare at the girl that she had ran away in terror. Lydia had been amused by the girl’s reaction and she had simply reacted to everyone with a similar stare, sometimes with a big grin to add to the scary effect. She still looked fondly back at that time because it was definitely fun and far from boring.

Lydia’s suitcase were put in the back of the horse-drawn carriage, and she climbed inside. Jordan climbed up to the driver‘s seat, picked up the reigns, and began the journey towards the school.

**********

It was a few days travel to where the Four Elements was located. They traveled by daylight only, and when the sun had almost set, Lydia procured herself and Jordan two rooms at whatever fine hotel was in town. She had always had the best, and wasn‘t going to let traveling lower her standards.

When they finally reached the school, Jordan unloaded Lydia’s bags and carried the two larger ones to her room in the girls’ dormitories. She had managed to get a private room just for herself. Jordan was going to be staying with the other servants and school staff members.

Other students, many of them freshly turned adults, were walking through the halls as Lydia went to her room. Some of them offered her small smiles in greeting. Lydia smiled slightly in return. She was definitely getting a better reception that the last time she‘d been there, and she wasn’t planning on frightening these kinder students. That didn’t mean that she wasn‘t going to be the best student there again, though.

**********

The magic school was open all year long. Students were able to come in and learn at any time and leave at any time as well. Upon learning everything there was to offer on each subject, they would get a certificate. Lydia had covered a wall in her room at House Martin proudly with all the certificates she’d gotten over the years. 

After a quick breakfast, Lydia went to find her first class. Upon entering the right classroom, she saw a few students sitting at their desks, quills and papers out. There were still plenty of empty seats. The teacher was sitting at his desk reading a large book full of runes. She recognized the teacher’s bald head and dark skin immediately. “Deaton,” she greeted. “It’s been a long time.”

Alan Deaton hadn’t been a teacher at the school the last time she had gone, as he was a middle-aged human, but she had heard of him and had met him at the few magical lectures that had been given. Everyone mostly knew him by only his last name. He was reputed to be a druid and taught caution in spellcasting as well as the practicalities of it He was extremely interested in keeping balance in the world. Vaguely, she recalled that he also had a sister at the school as well, Marin Morrell, but she apparently was more a mage than a druid and had different leanings in her teaching. 

Deaton lifted his head to face her. and though his expression didn‘t change, Lydia could see the surprise in his eyes. “Ah, Lydia Martin. One of the legends at this school returns. Have you come to amuse yourself again?”

Lydia couldn’t help but smirk. “I see my reputation still precedes me after all this time.”

The druid didn’t smirk, but Lydia could see a small sparkle in his eyes that was probably the closest he‘d ever come to laughing. “Well, all the teachers have had plenty of stories to share about you. Your frightening of the other students was legendary. And I’d say most of them probably heard all the stories secondhand at the very least. There aren’t too many teachers who’ve been here for more than a few decades.”

She shook her head. “Well, I don’t plan on doing any scaring of anyone this time. I just want to review all my magical knowledge and see if any new spells have been developed since the last time.”

Deaton nodded. “A noble pursuit. Well, come, sit down here in the front.” He indicated a seat in the front row. “Have you been to the library yet? There have been hundreds of new books brought in, and that’s just been in the past decade.”

Before Lydia could either move towards the seat Deaton indicated or respond to him, a young man rushed into the room carrying what seemed like a mountain of books and scrolls. A few steps into the room, he stumbled over his own feet and he nearly fell, a few scrolls falling from the stack he was carrying. Lydia caught a glimpse of pale skin and little brown moles as the young man dumped all the things he was carrying onto Deaton’s desk.

Deaton actually managed to lift an eyebrow. “Mr. Stilinski,” he greeted. “How is your research going?”

“I managed to figure out that spell I‘ve been trying to work on for weeks!” the young man, Stilinski, said excitedly. He pointed to a couple of scrolls. “See, if you combine this growth spell for plants with this water spell that makes a small area of rain, the effects will combine to make plants grow even more and produce more crops!” He talked with his whole body, his arms gesturing as he spoke, and he was practically bouncing up and down.

Deaton nodded. “Very good idea, Mr. Stilinski. We’ll have to test your theory out in the garden using our class tools.”

What Deaton called their class tools was something that had been discovered a few centuries before. They were special stones that allowed student mages to test out small spells without sacrificing anything themselves. The only thing that would be sacrificed would be the power in the stone. But luckily, the stones regained their power over several days and then they could be used again. It had been a major discovery and a huge help in the study of magic.

Stilinski waved his hand in dismissal at that idea. “Oh, I’ve already tested it. It definitely worked. I got a little nosebleed because of it, but it was definitely worth it to see my idea work!” He grinned, then jumped as he noticed Lydia for the first time. His brown eyes sparkled as he broke into an even bigger grin. “Hello, there! My name is Stiles! Stiles Stilinski! I haven’t seen _you_ around before!” He held out a hand to her.

Lydia thought the human was rather odd. He was talkative and full of energy, but he was also pretty smart to figure out how to combine spells himself to make a whole new one. And she definitely felt the spark between them as their eyes met for the first time “Lydia Martin,” she introduced herself, shaking his hand. “Charmed.”

And she really was.

**********

When Lydia retired to her room that night, Stiles was the main thing on her mind. He was definitely very smart, if rather unrefined, and smarts was one of the most important traits in the people she associated with. She had the distinct feeling that she wouldn‘t be bored with Stiles around. Idly, she wondered if something beyond friendship was possible between them.

The most difficult thing for a vampire was to find love. Most creatures did not have the extensive lifespans of vampires, who often didn‘t look to other vampires for love. She had heard of one creature called a kitsune that had originated in a land far away that could easily live for many millennia as well, but she had never once met one in all her years. So anyone that Lydia had ever fell in love with had long since died.

She picked up a small portrait that sat on her desk. It was of a young blonde man with an arrogant and proud look on his face. She sighed as she touched the cheek of the young man. “Jackson, why didn‘t you come back?“

Lydia had met the young Lord Jackson Whittemore over four centuries before. Lydia had been staying at one of the smaller estates owned by her family with Jordan and a few other of her servants, and the Whittemores had been their neighbors. Jackson had thought her simply another aristocratic lady when they had first met.

Jackson had indeed been as arrogant and proud as he was in his portait, but he’d also doted upon Lydia. He’d been handsome and athletic, and as they had growm to know each other, he had revealed to her that he was a werewolf. Lydia, of course, hadn’t cared one bit and revealed that she was a vampire. And Jackson hadn’t cared either.

He had courted her and they had married. They had been happy. But he had died young, only in his thirties. There had been a dispute with another werewolf who had brought friends. And Lydia hadn’t been around to help him. She’d left the estate brokenhearted and went back to her mother at House Martin.

After Jackson’s death, Lydia had been hopeful that she would see him again, in another body. Everyone reincarnated after some time, and those who were destined to be together, soulmates, would come back together time and time again, recognizing and remembering something from their old lives together. For the creatures with very long lifespans, like Jordan, Lydia, and her family, they would seek out their soulmates some decades after their death, and if they were meant to find each other again, they would. Lydia’s father had been a human, and he had returned to her mother in a new body seven times. He was between incarnations now, and Lydia was certain that her mother would encounter him again soon.

But Jackson had never returned to her. She had never met another man who had his spark inside him. After a couple of centuries of looking and waiting, she’d finally realized that Jackson hadn’t been one of her soulmates, wasn’t a person she’d spend lifetime after lifetime with. It had taken her centuries to truly give up on Jackson coming back, and she would always have love for him, but she knew that she was ready to meet someone new who might be a soulmate.

Even after one day of knowing him, Lydia could tell that Stiles was very different from Jackson. He was clumsy and didn’t seem very athletic at all. He hadn’t shown any arrogance in his abilities, but he’d been pleased with himself that he had combined spells effectively. He had seemed like he would be a fun person. And there was that spark that had passed between them, which had never happened when she’d met Jackson for the first time. Lydia was going to enjoy getting to know the strange human.

**********

“So, you’re a vampire, right?”

Lydia internally jumped. She’d been studying some of the more advanced spellbooks in the library at Deaton’s advice when Stiles had startled her. 

She was surprised that he’d figured out her nature. Naturally, Deaton and the other teachers were aware that she was a vampire, but she had never really gone out of her way to talk about it with any of the other students any time she‘d been there. It wasn’t something that she was trying to hide, though. “How did you guess?” she asked, curious.

“Oh, it was really easy!” Stiles said excitedly, pulling out the chair next to her and sitting down. “See, I was going through some old records to look up if students centuries ago had also attempted combining spells. And I happened to come across your name! But I didn’t think it was you at first. Maybe some relative that you were named after or something like that. But I kept coming across your name, though. Eventually, I read something that she, or should I say _you_ , were a vampire, and it made a lot of sense!” He huffed out a breath after speaking so much and smiled brightly at her, clearly proud of himself.

“Huh,” Lydia blinked. She wasn’t expecting the amount of research that Stiles had put in.

“Can you do something vampire-y?” Stiles leaned in closer to her conspiratorially, his eyes wide.

Lydia actually snorted. “Vampire-y?” she asked. “Really, Stiles?”

He nodded. “Yeah! You must be able to do something cool! I’ve heard all the rumors about vampires and I know that most of it’s false because I have known at least one other vampire and those rumors didn’t apply to him at all, but he was a pretty cool guy, so…”

Lydia held a finger up to his lips to stop him from continuing. She couldn’t believe how much Stiles could talk. She wondered idly if he was actually some supernatural creature who talked a lot, but she couldn‘t think of anything that fit Stiles. Deciding to indulge Stiles, she stared at him and flashed her eyes. Normally, they were a pretty hazel color, but when they flashed, they turned a vivid violet color.

Stiles stared. “That was _awesome_!” he breathed. “Can all vampires do that?”

She nodded. “From the time when we’re born.”

“Wow,” Stiles breathed. “That’s so amazing! You have such pretty eyes either way.”

“So, what about you?” Lydia asked, closing her book. “Are you something interesting?”

“Nope,” Stiles said breezily. “Just your ordinary human. My mother was a mage, too, though. She died when I was young, and she left me all her spellbooks. Doing magic makes me feel close to her, you know?” He sounded a little vulnerable then, and Lydia’s heart went out to him.

“I don’t understand personally, because my mother isn’t really crazy about magic, but if magic makes you feel close to your own mother, it’s a very good thing, Stiles,” she said, putting her hand on top of his.

Stiles gave her a dazzling smile, and Lydia felt her heart skip a beat. 

**********

A few weeks later, after their class with Ms. Morrell, Stiles beckoned to Lydia. “Come on, Lyds, I want to show you something really cool!”

Lydia was intrigued. She let Stiles lead her out to a beautiful meadow behind the school where there was a picnic laid out for them. “Is this what you wanted to show me?“ Lydia asked, looking around approvingly. She sat down primly on the thick blanket and tucked her legs beneath her.

“Nope,” Stiles said simply, then proceeded to dish out the food that he’d brought along in the picnic basket. It was just simple bread, cheese, and some preserved meat, and a jug of freshly made lemonade, but the young mage beamed with pride as he handed Lydia her plate. Lydia continued to be charmed by Stiles.

After they’d eaten their food, Stiles turned to Lydia with a big grin on his face. “Are you ready for what I’m gonna show you now?” he asked, rubbing his hands together with a mischievous glint in his eye.

Lydia was even more curious. “Yes,” she answered.

Stiles held out his hands and folded them together as if he was going to drink from them and closed his eyes. For a moment, Lydia wasn’t sure if Stiles wanted her to hold his hands, but suddenly, a little light appeared in his outstretched hands. More and more lights gathered in his hands until they were full of the tiny lights. Then Stiles raised his hands up and the lights spread out around them in the air. It almost looked like little will-o-wisps were floating around them.

Lydia was impressed, but she frowned at Stiles. “You know magic requires a sacrifice,” she scolded. “What did you give up for this?”

Stiles waved his hand in dismissal and yawned. “Oh, don’t worry. It wasn’t a big spell at all. I’m just a little tired now. I might just take a nap here. Care to join me?” He waggled his eyebrows and laid down, patting the blanket beside him.

Lydia shook her head, but there was a soft smile on her face. “Go to sleep, Stiles,” she said gently. “I’ll still be here when you wake up.”

Stiles closed his eyes with the biggest grin on his face. 

When she knew he couldn’t see her, she silently laughed at his cheek. He was proving himself to be amazing, the best man she’d ever known.

**********

Things were good for months. Lydia and Stiles were the top two students of all of their classes, and they were always studying together. They went to the meadow behind the school together every so often. They held hands walking through the halls and kissed in barely used corridors. They shared stories about their lives, including Lydia‘s times with her deceased husband. Lydia was filled with excitement. Going back to the Four Elements was definitely the best decision she had ever made. She couldn’t imagine how things could be better.

One day, the couple decided to have a picnic in the field outside the school walls. “Go on ahead without me,” Stiles told her. “I have to ask Deaton some questions about a new spell I was looking into. It might take a while, and I don’t want you to be bored.”

Lydia smiled. “Alright, Stiles.” She kissed his lightly on the cheek. “I’ll see you soon?”

Stiles nodded, then turned toward Deaton’s classroom.

Lydia exited the school and passed through the gates to the outside. The students didn’t usually leave the school unless they were going home in carriages, but Lydia and Stiles had been given permission. The school grounds were protected because all the teachers over the years had done a group protection spell. The area around the school was supposed to be safe, though, which was why Lydia and Stiles had decided to go. 

Technically, Lydia was supposed to alert Jordan if she was leaving the school, but because she was going to be with Stiles and it would feel awkward to have a third there, she hadn’t said anything about it to him

She shook out their blanket and laid it flat over the grass, then lifted one side of the basket to break off a little corner of cheese. She had no idea how long Stiles was going to be, but she was getting hungry.

She suddenly had a creepy feeling come over her, like she was being watched. She chewed slowly, moving only her eyes around, trying to see if some animal was around.

“Look what we’ve got here, boys,” said a rough, male voice.

She turned around and stood up. She saw about a dozen men coming from up the hill leading away from the school. She was nervous, but she wasn’t scared. She was one of the two best students of magic and a vampire, and she was going to defend herself. “And what do you think you have?” she asked with confidence, quickly thinking about what spell would be most effective and hopefully wouldn’t need too much of a sacrifice. Falling asleep at that moment wasn’t a good idea.

“A mage,” another man said. “We know all about magic and sacrifices. That’s why we fight other methods.” He grabbed the hilt at his side and drew a long knife out, and the other men pulled out their weapons as well.

Lydia figured that these men were most likely mage hunters, people who hated magic and wanted to kill as many mages as possible. It was going to be difficult fight, but Lydia wasn’t going to show fear. She prayed to the Fates of Magic that they would not sacrifice what she couldn’t safely give.

Three of the hunters ran towards her all at once from different directions. She stood, thankful that she had chosen to set up near the few trees that were in the field. She concentrated on the roots of the tree, making them grow thick and long, bursting out of the ground. Two of the men fell over the roots, but the one who didn’t grabbed her. 

Feeling a little dizzy, Lydia gripped the arm that was holding her and heated up her hand. The hunter screamed and let go of her, blowing on his rapidly blistering hand.

“She’s going to tire soon enough!” another one yelled. “Let’s keep at it!” He ran at her with a longsword, the blade long enough that he didn’t have to be standing right next to her to attack. He swung the sword at her, but Lydia leaned away from the blade. It sliced through the sleeve of her dress, though she herself wasn’t hurt.

More of them were running at Lydia, and she knew that she would need something more powerful. A powerful wind started to build up around her, and when the wind felt as powerful as she could stand, she released it and it blew out in a ring around her, blowing every hunter away from her as they cried out in shock. She ignored all the picnic things she had brought out and rushed towards the school gates.

But Lydia was feeling very tired after the wind spell. She had only gone about ten steps when she felt hands pulling her away. “No!” she screamed, using her hands to burn as many of the hunters as she could. She noticed that a couple of hunters had been blown into the roots she had grown and hadn’t gotten up, most likely impaled. But she still had ten more to deal with. 

She wished that Stiles was there. She wished that she could spend his life with him. But he wasn’t, and she was going to die there if they pierced her heart, which they almost certainly would. But she’d take as many out with her as she could. She gathered the wind around her as fast as she could, struggling to stand as the hunters were forced to let go of her, then sent it flying out in a ring around her. 

This time, nine hunters rose to kill her, all of their weapons aiming for her. But Lydia had used every bit of her energy she had, and she fell over. 

But before anyone could reach the fallen Lydia, another blast of wind blew the remaining men away. “Get away from her!” a familiar voice cried out.

Lydia looked over and saw Stiles running towards her, and she felt a glimmer of hope. But the hunters were getting up and coming towards her as well, and they were much closer than Stiles.

Stiles suddenly stopped running and raised his arms to the sky and his eyes glowed. There was a rumble in the air, and some of the men paused to look up. Then, nine lightning bolts came crashing down, so bright that Lydia couldn’t see anything in front of her. She turned her head away and closed her eyes.

When everything was quiet for a few minutes, Lydia chanced opening her eyes again. Stiles alone remained standing. All nine hunters surrounding her were on the ground, dead. Stiles wobbled a little, but looked over at Lydia and gave a cocky little smirk. “I did it, Lyds,” he said quietly, then his legs gave out from underneath him and he collapsed to the ground himself.

“Stiles!” Lydia screamed, forcing herself to stumble the distance to his side. She noticed that she was bleeding from her arms, probably a sacrifice for the wind spells she had cast, but she ignored her own injuries to check on Stiles. “You idiot! What price are you going to have to pay for this?”

A finger touched Lydia’s lips to silence her and she looked down to Stiles still smiling. “Any price is worth it to protect you,” he murmured.

“But I don’t want to be protected if you’re not going to be there with me!” Lydia cried out, tears springing to her eyes. “You’re the only one I wanted to spend your lifetime with, and hopefully many more!”

“And you did,” Stiles said, then started coughing violently. Lydia was terrified, but when Stiles’ coughing subsided, he continued in a soft voice. “You spent the last of my lifetime with me. And maybe you’ll see me again. Remember the spark between us?”

Lydia nodded tearfully, gripping onto his hand.

“I’m happy,” Stiles coughed again, “to have been yours, even if our time was short.”

Lydia could feel Stiles’ heartbeat start to slow down. She didn’t want Stiles to die, especially because he was protecting her. She suddenly knew how those people in the past who died to cast a spell to keep their loved ones alive felt, and she knew that she would easily make that sacrifice, too. She closed her eyes and silently begged the Fates of Magic, “I will give anything to keep him alive and human.” 

She felt something break inside of her. “ _You will not die, because you are a vampire,_ ” a voice inside her head said. “ _But you will age as your soulmate ages with a human lifespan before you. Blessings be upon you._ ” 

Lydia’s eyes shot open. She looked at Stiles, who was staring at her as well. “You saved me!” Stiles said in awe. “You saved me, and you didn’t die!” He gently touched her all over as if he didn’t believe what he was seeing.

“No,” she shook her head. “But I will age like you do, now.”

“Are you sad that you’re not practically immortal anymore?” Stiles asked, concerned.

Lydia shook her head. “Too easy to get bored. But I get to spend the rest of my life with my soulmate!”

As the two kissed, Jordan, Ms. Morrell, and several other teachers rushed through the gate from the Four Elements. “You’re bleeding, milady!” Jordan cried out, quickly kneeling beside her and examining her arms.

“I’ll be alright, Jordan,” Lydia told him

Ms. Morrell was examining the bodies of the men. “These look like mage hunters,” she said. “These ones have killed at least a hundred mages in the last few years. We didn’t realized they’d been so close, or we wouldn’t have given permission to leave.” 

“We’re not in trouble, are we?” Stiles asked, cringing.

“Oh, no,” Ms. Morrell said. “We are very proud of you two for dealing with this threat. But come on so we can take care of your wounds.”

**********

Epilogue - Three years later

“Push again!”

Lydia closed her eyes and bore down with all her strength. She screamed with the exertion of it, but it still wasn’t enough to bring her child into the world, and she sank back into the cushions with an exhausted sigh. 

Natalie wiped Lydia’s brow with a washcloth and gave her a gentle smile.

“You’re doing well, Lady Stilinski,” the midwife told Lydia. “Just a little bit longer.”

Stiles wasn’t permitted in be in their room right now. He was probably outside the room pacing constantly and talking without stopping about the birthing process and parenting and how much he loved Lydia and their baby. Lydia smiled at the thought of it and hoped that Jordan would keep him occupied enough.

At the midwife’s urging, Lydia pushed again, and a few minutes later, she had a crying beautiful baby girl with wisps of red hair and mole-spotted skin in her arms. Lydia looked down her daughter and she beamed as big as Stiles usually did.

A moment later, Stiles himself burst into their bedroom. “Lydia? Are you alright? Is the baby alright?”

Lydia tore her eyes away from their child and onto her husband. “We’re fine,” she said softly. “But having a baby is harder than anything else I’ve ever done! We have a little girl,” she added, holding her so he could see her.

The two looked down at their baby with love in their eyes. When she opened her big eyes to look back at them, they were a beautiful hazel.

“Our little girl,” Stiles whispered. “She’s as beautiful as you, Lyds.”

Lydia smiled softly and gently caressed her daughter’s head.

The baby sneezed suddenly. A little puff of smoke floated up from her lips as her eyes shone a vivid purple.

“Looks like she’s got magic in her already,” Stiles beamed. “And she’s a vampire just like you and your mother.”

Lydia looked down at the baby and smiled gently. “You’re going to have quite the life, little one,” she murmured. “You will live for a very long time, and one day, the person who you are meant to be with will finally meet you. And then you will live happily ever after.”

“Just like us, “ Stiles added, kissing his wife, then their daughter on the forehead.

“Just like us,” Lydia confirmed.

**Author's Note:**

> When magic is cast, a sacrifice must be made. Most sacrifices in this fic are either energy or blood. Two characters attempt to sacrifice their lives to cast different spells, but neither character dies.
> 
> There are several minor character deaths. Jackson dies about 400 years before the story, and the circumstances of his death aren't given in detail. There are some hunters who die as well, some by being impaled and some by being hit by lightning. None of their deaths are very detailed, either.
> 
> Stiles nearly dies, but he is saved by magic.


End file.
